The chocolate confection "Tsugaru Kakao" offered at the Angelique, a Western confectionery store in Aomori, has become a hot topic online.

It has three stores in Aomori prefecture and offers baked goods and macaroons. "Tsugaru Kakan Europe" is a chocolate with a cocoa butter cookie dough and a Tsugaru-nuri pattern on the surface. It started selling at the same store in 2008.

The origin of the topic came from the fact that a woman living in Tokyo sent a message on Twitter saying, "It's so beautiful that it doesn't stop like the magic of darkness, and it's delicious (textual mom)." It has become a hot topic with over 5000 retweets and over 9,000 likes. A woman commented, "I got it from my relatives in Aomori, so I started to ask for it. I am happy that it is a hot topic because it is a favorite product."

According to Yasuhiko Ichinohe, the store's representative, "I noticed the tweet yesterday. It was strange that I had a lot of orders from customers outside the prefecture about three days ago." "In the past, orders have been picked up by travel magazines and other sources, but it may be the first time it has been discussed online," he said.

Mr. Ichinohe, who wondered if a new souvenir could be made in Aomori, developed "Tsugaru Kakan Europe" and said, "It would be interesting if there was an edible Tsugaru lacquer." "It took me half a year to develop the product, and I was particular about the colors. I made the package black so that red could be seen. It also comes with instructions so that people inside and outside the prefecture can know more about it."

It has been about 10 years since its release, and the manufacturing method and design have not changed since then. The sister product “Tsugaru Opera”, which uses the same manufacturing method, is also popular, and says, “The products in the showcase are replaced quickly, but the Tsugaru opera has been sold in the showcase for more than 5 years.” "The product that I started wanting to talk about and make news. It was on target," he says with a smile.

The price is 1,800 yen (10 pieces, tax not included). It is basically sold at the store, but can also be shipped. However, orders are accepted only by phone (TEL 0172-35-9894).